“…First, socialism just doesn’t work—at least not for long. Most people won’t keep working hard for the greater good if they don’t receive the fruits of that work. The free-loader effect is the tendency of people to do less work when they realize they won’t see more in return. Over time, socialist societies experience decreasing productivity, risk-taking, and innovation, along with increasing tax rates, government programs, and expectations. When the economy falters, those expectations can’t be met.

Unfortunately, by the time people realize this, it is often too late for them to try a different approach, since there are more people who expect benefits from the government than there are people who pay for them. And thus begins a descent to economic and motivational malaise. Ironically, the people who socialism is supposed to help—the poor—only grows because they are joined by more people who drop out of the shrinking middle class…”